Universal Materials Incubator
Venture capitalPre-Seed–Growth · 2 people tracked
Also known as ユニバーサル マテリアルズ インキュベーター株式会社
Investment thesis
UMI invests in the materials and chemicals sector guided by six core principles: targeting themes that could become new businesses for the industry a decade out rather than short-term trends or incremental improvements; being operated by materials and chemicals industry professionals rather than conventional VCs; providing hands-on operational support with clear exit scenarios; actively partnering startups with large corporations to share resources across R&D, mass production and marketing; forging broad cross-industry links between upstream materials producers and downstream demand; and treating all parties as equal partners. Its investment theme combines needs-driven thinking with unconventional ideas to commercialize breakthrough materials and chemical technologies, strengthening Japan's technological competitiveness.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 2 people
from curated & public directoriesWhat they invest in
from 32 of 80 portfolio companiesNew Materials ×17Deep Tech ×12Biotech ×11Cleantech ×11Circular Economy ×8Advanced Manufacturing ×7Hardware ×7AgTech ×5
HQs:Japan×20United States×7Germany×1United Kingdom×1India×1
Investments · 80 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2021 · 12020 · 12 dated
Brentwood, US
Alex Savenok(Executive Officer)Hal Eason(Executive Officer)Greg Leekley(Director)Daniel Yen(Executive Officer)Phoenix Stone(Executive Officer, Director)Sybil Hall(Executive Officer, Director)
Allied Carbon Solutions develops and manufactures sophorolipids, a natural biosurfactant, with applications in livestock feed and emulsifiers, personal care yeast-fermentation extracts, and agricultural biostimulants.
AgTechBiotechCircular EconomyCleantechNew MaterialsNot stated, JP
山縣 洋介(代表取締役 (Representative Director))
Co-investorsShizuoka Capital
Co-investorsDCVC (Data Collective)
Aromyx develops biosensor technology that replicates human olfactory receptors to measure and quantify odors and flavors for product development, quality control, and consumer targeting across food, beverage, sustainability, and health industries.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechMountain View, US
Mark Mendel(Director)Christopher J. Hanson(Executive Officer, Director)Josh Silverman(Executive Officer, Director)Kieran Furlong(Director)Jeffrey Y. Suto(Executive Officer)Keith Milne(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsMindset VentureRadicle GrowthSozo VenturesThundermark CapitalUlu Ventures
Arzeda designs proteins and metabolic pathways using computational tools, including its Archytas protein design software and Scylax metabolic pathway design software.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechFoodTechNew MaterialsSeattle, US
Alexandre Zanghellini(Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer)inEric Althoff(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)David BakerBill Baum(Director)inAndrew Ban(Executive Officer)Daniela Grabs(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsCirculate CapitalSofinnova PartnersSustainable Conversion VenturesFall Line CapitalOS Fund
bitBiome provides contract analysis and collaborative research using single-cell genome sequencing technology for microbial samples.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechCircular EconomyDeep TechTokyo, JP
Naomichi Sode
Co-investorsGlobal BrainIT-Farm CorporationSeibu Shinkin CapitalUTEC
Co-investorsOno Digital health Investment, GK.
Advanced ManufacturingAgTechBrisbane, US
Jamie Bacher(Founder)inAdam Paul Arkin(Founder)in
BoardErkki Aaltonen(Director)in
Co-investorsCompoundKickstart InnovationSaltagen VenturesY CombinatorYara Growth VenturesNimble Ventures+1 more
Cellfiber is a biotechnology company founded in 2015 that develops cell encapsulation technology and manufacturing techniques to increase production capacity for cell and gene therapies, aiming to make these treatments accessible to more patients.
BiotechHardwareMedical DevicesKumamoto, JP
Co-investorsFast Track InitiativeUntroD Capital
Citrine provides an AI platform for product development used across organizations, with expertise in materials discovery and advanced manufacturing optimization.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareNew MaterialsRedwood City, US
Greg Mulholland(Co-founder & CEO)inBryce Meredig(Executive Officer, Director)Rahim Lakhani(Executive Officer)in
BoardScott Brady(Director)inMark Cupta(Director)inAmar Hanspal(Director)
Co-investorsDCVC (Data Collective)DYDX CapitalEndeavor8IsaiISAI GestionPrelude Ventures+3 more
CONNEXX SYSTEMS is a Japanese startup developing energy-storage batteries and a networked storage system ("Power Net") that links distributed batteries and renewable sources like solar and wind into a unified energy network.
CleantechEnergyHardware
Co-investorsKyoto University Innovation Capital
EF Polymer makes a 100% natural super-absorbent polymer produced by upcycling agricultural waste such as fruit peels and pulp.
AgTechCircular EconomyNew Materials
Narayan Lal Gurjar(Founder)inAnkit Jain(Founder)in
Co-investorsBeyond Next VenturesLifetime VenturesSVG Ventures | THRIVE
FMC is a semiconductor company developing non-volatile memory solutions, spun from EU research institutions with R&D and manufacturing operations across Europe, the US, Japan, and Taiwan.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductorsDresden, DE
Thomas Rueckes(Chief Executive Officer)Ayman Abouelwafa(Chief Product Officer)Norm Armour(Chief Operating Officer)Raj Jammy(President Global BU & CTO)
Co-investorsBosch VenturesDeepTech & Climate FondsRobert Bosch Venture CapitalTEL Venture Capital, Inc.HV Capitalimec.xpand+3 more
Goryo Chemical develops fluorescence-based technology to visualize diseases and support diagnosis and treatment.
BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesNew MaterialsTokyo, JP
Co-investorsDG IncubationMiyako CapitalS Ventures
Green Earth Institute is a Japanese company operating a corporate office in Tokyo and a research center in Kisarazu, Chiba.
BiotechTokyo, JP
Co-investorsSMBC Venture CapitalSony Ventures CorporationSustainable Conversion VenturesUTEC
Green Culture develops and sells plant-based foods, handling everything from product development to distribution in-house.
ConsumerFoodTech
iMicrobes uses synthetic biology to develop cost-effective sustainable materials and replace conventional manufacturing processes.
BiotechCircular EconomyCleantechClimate TechHealthtechNew MaterialsSan Francisco, US
Derek Greenfield(Founder/CEO)Liz Clarke(Founder/CTO)inNoah Helman(Founder/CSO)in
Co-investorsFirst Bight VenturesJuniperY Combinator
JEPLAN is a Japanese group focused on recycling and circular economy, working with domestic and international partners under the mission of "circulating all things." It aims to advance a circular economy through recycling technologies and operations across its business sites and factories.
Circular EconomyCleantechClimate TechNew MaterialsTokyo, JP
髙尾 正樹(代表取締役 執行役員社長 (President & CEO))
Co-investorsGOLDWIN VENTURE PARTNERSOSAKA University Venture CapitalShizuoka CapitalUntroD Capital
JITSUBO develops Molecular Hiving™, a peptide synthesis technology, and provides contract manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and technology licensing.
Advanced ManufacturingBiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesYokohama, JP
Shuya Mizufune(President & CEO (代表取締役社長))
BoardIchiro Shima(Director (取締役))Keitaro Iwaki(Chairman (取締役会長))Keisuke Bando(Director (取締役))
LiSTie develops LiSMIC, a high-purity lithium recovery technology using a specialized ion-conducting membrane (developed at Japan's QST) that selectively separates lithium from impurity-heavy sources such as brine, and is building container-sized recovery units.
Circular EconomyCleantechDeep TechRokkasho, Aomori, JP
Tsuyoshi Hoshino(代表取締役 (Representative Director / CEO))山地 正洋 (Masahiro Yamaji)(取締役 (Director))木場 祥介 (Shosuke Koba)(社外取締役 (Outside Director))
Numat develops metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and manufactures them at industrial scale through an integrated campus with ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management.
Advanced ManufacturingCleantechDeep TechNew MaterialsIllinois, US
Ben Hernandez(Founder and Chief Executive Officer)Dr. Omar Farha(Founder and Chief Scientific Officer)
BoardT. Jay Collins(Director)Bill Kroll(Director)Luka Erceg(Director)Jeff Klunzinger(Director)
Co-investorsGlobal BrainRapha Capital Management, LLCTEL Venture Capital, Inc.
PaMeLa develops compact, low-burden medical devices that use artificial intelligence to objectively measure and visualize pain, addressing the reliance on patients' subjective self-reporting.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesOsaka, JP
後藤 宏明(代表取締役 (Representative Director))
Co-investorsOSAKA University Venture Capital
Co-investorsOSAKA University Venture Capital
POLASTECH is a deep-tech company developing zeolite-based water-vapor adsorbent materials (AQSOA) and adsorption heat pumps (AHP) that convert low-temperature waste heat from data centers and industrial facilities into cooling energy, reducing electricity use and CO₂ emissions.
CleantechDeep TechNew MaterialsTokyo, JP
Hiroyuki Kakiuchi(代表取締役 (Representative Director / CEO))Yuya Watanabe(CFO)Daisuke Yanagawa(CSCO)
Puraffinity specializes in PFAS science, water treatment, and commercialization of related technologies.
CleantechClimate TechNew MaterialsLondon, GB
Vincent Caillaud(CEO)
Co-investorsExtantia CapitalHG VenturesKindred CapitalOctopus VenturesVerve VenturesAcequia Capital (AceCap)
Scimplify combines chemical R&D, software, and a network of manufacturing partners to supply specialty chemicals for customers such as agrochemical and other regulated programs.
Advanced ManufacturingB2B MarketplacesNew MaterialsBengaluru, IN
Dheeraj Dhingra(Founder)Salil Srivastava(Founder)Sachin Santhosh(Founder)in
Co-investorsOmnivoreAccel3one4 Capital
Spiber develops next-generation biomaterials based on structural protein technology, producing polymers through fermentation for applications across lifestyle, beauty, food, and healthcare products.
BiotechCircular EconomyNew MaterialsTsuruoka, JP
川名 麻耶(CEO)
Ac-Planta develops and manufactures biostimulant products that enhance plants' tolerance to drought, high temperature, and salt stress, along with agricultural and horticultural materials for farms and plant factories.
AgTechBiotechClimate TechYokohama, JP
Kim Jong-Myong
Co-investorsGlobal BrainSony Ventures Corporation
Carbon Fiber Recycle Industry co.ltd. is a Japanese company that recycles carbon fiber materials.
Circular EconomyCleantechNew MaterialsMitake, Kani District, Gifu, JP
Hideto Itazu(Representative Director)
Co-investorsi-nest capitalMIRAI SOUZOUEnergy & Environment Investment
tiem factory Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells functional materials, specifically an aerogel called SUFA (Super Functional Air), a porous material over 90% air engineered for high flexibility and elasticity in transparent plate form.
CleantechDeep TechNew MaterialsIbaraki, JP
橘弘一郎(代表取締役社長 (President & CEO))倉田真弥(取締役 / 代表取締役 (Director / Representative Director))
Board川瀬昇(取締役 (Director))
Co-investorsKyoto University Innovation Capital
Co-investorsAngel Bridge Co.,Ltd.Beyond Next VenturesMiyako Capital
micro-AMS develops and sells microwave molding equipment for resin/plastic molding and sells microwave-molded products.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechHardwareNew Materials
宮本 雅司(代表取締役CEO)村田 知哉(取締役CBO)
Polyuse is a Japanese company developing construction 3D printers and related technology and services for the construction industry.
Advanced ManufacturingConstruction TechHardwareTokyo, JP
hayato isezaki(Founder)in岩本 卓也(代表取締役/共同創業者)大岡 航(代表取締役/共同創業者)
Co-investorsCoral CapitalGlobis Capital PartnersSTRIVE
SteraVision develops optical switching and steering devices and FMCW/Digital Coherent LiDAR systems that can weight scanning toward specific regions of interest, for uses such as automotive and industrial LiDAR, factory automation robots, optical switches, and intrusion sensors.
Deep TechHardwareMobility & Transportation
Uezuka(Representative / CEO)
Alpha-Tech (株式会社アルファテック) is a Yamagata University spin-out that develops, manufactures, and licenses temperature-controlled milling machines for the alpha-gelatinization of grains such as starch and cellulose.
AgTechFoodTechNew MaterialsYamagata, JP
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesbitBiome株式会社 · finsmes.com · May 27, 2026
FMC · datacenterdynamics.com · Mar 11, 2026
EF Polymer · iamrenew.com · Oct 17, 2025
Numat Technologies · trysignalbase.com · May 27, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Universal Materials Incubator made?
- Universal Materials Incubator has 56 tracked investments.
- What stage does Universal Materials Incubator invest at?
- Universal Materials Incubator invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth stages.
- What sectors does Universal Materials Incubator focus on?
- Universal Materials Incubator focuses on Deep Tech, New Materials, Sector Agnostic.
- Does Universal Materials Incubator lead rounds?
- Universal Materials Incubator typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Universal Materials Incubator co-invest with?
- Universal Materials Incubator most often shares deals with Compound, DCVC (Data Collective), Octopus Ventures, among 24 tracked co-investors.
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